Reflux occurs frequently in premature babies due to the weakness of the esophageal sphincter. When the infant is fed, formula can easily be regurgitated into the esophagus, into the trachea and aspirated by the infant causing aspiration pneumonia. The treatment for infants with gastroesophageal reflux, among other things, is to position the infant face down on a bed. The head of the bed is maintained in a raised position so that gravity may assist in keeping the stomach contents in the stomach.
However, the infant can not remain in the bed in the correct upward position on his own, and repeatedly slides either sideways or down towards the foot of the bed. When the infant slides down or to the side, he or she is no longer in the proper position for this type of treatment to be effective. The reflux pants of the present invention are used to keep the baby stationary so that the treatment will be efficient.
Until the present time, blankets, T-shirts and sandbags have been used to keep the infant in the desired position. The infant can be wrapped in blankets or surrounded by sandbags. The T-shirts are used upside-down with the legs of the infant placed through the armholes of the T-shirts. However, these methods are ineffective for a variety of reasons. The infant slides out of the blankets, the sandbags are uncomfortable and both the sandbags and T-shirts cause the babies legs to be abnormally positioned. The abnormal leg position may cause future development of orthopedic problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,767 to GUIMOND discloses a therapeutic device for positioning an infant afflicted with gastroesophageal reflux. The device includes an incline flat bed portion covered with foam pad 15, as illustrated in FIG. 1 of the patent. Sides 3 and 5 are covered by plastic covered foam pads 11 and 13, respectively. A pair of generally angled mount support rods are provided to attach a pair of plastic pants 23, via eye screw 17, to the inclined flat surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,068 to POVEL discloses a safety blanket for children which includes main blanket portion B which is adapted to be suspended over the shoulders of a child. Bands C are provided for tying the blanket to a bed, and cross strap D is attached to the blanket. Straps B are positioned over the shoulders of a child in a generally suspender-type fashion. Additional bands C' can be provided to attach belt E to the blanket.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,502 discloses an infant holder which adapted to limit the movement of humans and animals during treatment or other operations. The invention includes a main body portion 10 having an upper end and cuts 13 and 14 forming wings 17 and 18 between the cuts and the bottom of the body. The wings are adapted to be bent upwardly to permit legs of a child to be inserted therein. The restraining portion of the device includes a pair of upper straps 25 and 26 which can be flexibly positioned around the shoulder, chest and thorax of a child to retain the child with limited mobility. A flap 33 is provided for receiving the head of a child.C
U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,737 discloses a support harness for a child which includes a main portion 21, shoulder straps 32, and the base support portion 31. VELCRO straps 33 and 34 are provided for attaching shoulder straps 32 to straps 27 located about the chair in which the child is positioned.
None of the previous methods and devices used for restraining infants provide a device by which an infant can be restrained on an inclined bed where both the main torso and the chest are supported.